Capturing the spirit and psyche of the world's greatest city.
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Saturday, November 2, 2013

Getting by in NYC

New York City is home to some of the richest people in the world. It
also has some of the biggest concentrations of poverty in the world,
with areas of the Bronx competing with Africa and India. Being middle
class has become increasingly hard in Mayor Bloomberg's NYC and, as his
twelve-year reign comes to an end, Bill De Blasio is poised to become
his successor in large part because of this fact.

But what about those people who certainly aren't rich or middle-class
but aren't really dirt poor? What about those people just scraping by
without the help of the welfare state, trust funds or a regular job?

A few recent articles shed light on this and show us what the Bloomberg era has led to for this people as we close it:

First, last year's hurricane has already exacerbated the inequality in
this city. Wealthier New Yorkers did just fine, using their money either
to flee the city during the hurricane or using it recover. Poorer New
Yorkers were devastated. Meanwhile, many others have had to take
multiple jobs and get more inventive in scrimping and saving.

Second, what's it like to be a doorman in NYC? At first blush, it seems
like a cushy gig -- union protection and you just have open and close
building doors and occasionally buzz people upstairs. But oh no. This is
a tough job, dealing with heaving packages, drunk and insane building
residents, isolation, even dead bodies. Rough. Anyone working at a job
like this should be paid a fortune .

Third and finally, in order to save money, some people are resorting to
living in libraries instead of renting rooms. This story about a grad
student living in NYU's Bobst Library is both harrowing and uplifting at
the same time. No one should find living in a dorm more appealing than a
room or an apartment. At the same time, it's gotta toughen you up.

So if you're just trying to get by in this town, you're in very good company.